By Kanoko Matsuyama
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Japan plans to almost double
its stockpile of anti-flu drugs in case of a pandemic that
could kill millions of people worldwide, the government said.
The country will hold medicine for 45 percent of its 128
million people from 23 percent now, according to guidelines
by the Cabinet Office, the ministry of health and other
ministries. No timeframe was provided to boost the stockpile.
Governments and the World Health Organization are
stockpiling medicines in case of an avian influenza pandemic
in humans. A flu pandemic could kill 71 million people
worldwide and lead to a ``major global recession'' costing
more than $3 trillion, according to a worst-case scenario
outlined by the World Bank last month.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Relenza will account for about 10
percent of Japan's supplies and the government will also
consider using drugs under development, Yoshinori Ito, a
counselor at the Cabinet Office, told journalists in Tokyo
today.
Emerging resistance to Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu, also
known by its chemical name oseltamivir, has led governments
to consider Relenza as an option for reserves. Japan held
Tamiflu for 28 million people as of March, and has Relenza for
1.35 million.
The medicines offer a defense against the H5N1 strain of
avian flu that has infected at least 387 people in 15 countries
in the past five years, killing 63 percent of them.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kanoko Matsuyama in
Tokyo at kmatsuyama2@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: November 27, 2008 23:51 EST
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